LÉPIDOPTÉROLOGIE COMPARÉE 389 



which is soon remédiée! by means of a needle and blotting 

 paper. When dry, and at rest, the insect holds the wings in the 

 usual position of a maie rnoth. As one might expect from the 

 great disparity in size between the enormous body and reduced 

 wings the females are incapable of flight. When alarmed, they 

 nearly always drop as zonarïa maies do, curving the abdomen 

 under and holding the wings over the back. The maie only does 

 this on rare occasions. 



Both sexes pair freely, but the results of copulation are the 

 same ni both cases. The ova produced are never fertile. Females 

 which pair with harrisonï maies, cannot lay their eggs and soon 

 call again, and harrïsoni female after laying a few eggs, behaves 

 in the same manner. It extrudes the ovipositor and waves it to 

 attract a maie. Sometimes, after a second pairing, it lays its 

 eggs much more freely. They are laid in the manner common to 

 ail the species and hybrids of the group. The female wanders 

 nimbly about, curving and waving her abdomen in search of 

 suitable crevices. 



However, the ova, possibly on account of their size, are never 

 laid so regularly as those of a pure species. Occasionally, after 

 pairing the female dies at once, but for the most part they live 

 a month. 



Description of ova. 



The ova are very large; in fact, they are larger than those of 

 zonaria, which in turn are larger than hirtaria ova. The surface 

 is pitted and reticulated, but is dead in tone, as in zonaria ova 

 and is not glossy as in the case of Jiirtarïa; its green colour, 

 althought lighter, is close to that of the latter species. The shell 

 is thick and stout, but, m spite of that, the eggs soon collapse and 

 shrivel up. 



